The Influence of Government Policies on Tourism Performance in West Pokot County.

Abstract

The study focused on the influence of government policies on tourism performance in West Pokot County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following variables: policy framework, provision of infrastructure, provision of amenities and conducive taxation strategy. The theory guiding this study was consumer choice theory. Descriptive research design was used for the study. Target population consisted of employees of hotels, officials of tour firms and officers in the ministry of tourism in the County Government of West Pokot. Systematic stratified sampling was used and a total of 41 respondents selected. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that government policies should have a conducive taxation strategy to attract more investors in the tourism industry, local governments play an important role in promoting sustainable tourism development by providing infrastructure and amenities hence increasing tourism performance to a very large extent. The study recommends that government policies should be friendly. Another study could be done on challenges facing domestic tourism which was not part of the study.